Cotton lint cleaners



-March 31, 1959 Original Filed Aug. 9. 1951 E. E. Moss co'r'rou LnrrCLEANERS 3 Sheets-Sheet l a 24 3a a 39' 24' a o e a 39 I 4/ A 9 I 40 o52 44 74 y 44 I I6 52 9 \33 35 32 7/ /5 7 Q |||l// 70 A; 3

Q /4 I 51 5 1 BY ATTORNEYS March 31-, 1959 E. E. MOSS COTTON LIN'ICLEANERS 7 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 L/NT FLU! TH E2 oii inal Filed Aug. 9, 1951NT CLEANER CONDENSER mess Fig-9 25 Ennis E. Moss 25 I INVENTOR ATTORNEYSMarch 31, 1959 E. a moss COTTON LINT CLEANERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 OriginalFiled Aug. 9, 195] 5 S 0 M E w m E INVENTOR ATTORNEYS COTTON LINTCLEANERS Ennis E. Moss, Lubbock, Tex., assignor, by mesne assignments,to George Garrison Potts, trustee, Dallas, Tex.

Original No. 2,704,862, dated March 29, 1955, Serial No. 241,053, August9, 1951. Application for reissue July 7, 1958, Serial No. 755,819

15 Claims. (CI. 19-67) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates theadditions made by reissue.

This invention relates to new invcotton lint cleaners. V

The general object of the invention is to providea cotton lint cleanerof the dual type of a capacity to handle the output of a battery ofgins, connected to the lint fiue at a' point between said gins and thecommon condenser to which the lint flue normally delivers the lintcotton prior to pressing, and having valve' controls by which the lintcotton may be conducted to said con denser by alternate paths, one inthe case of the cotton which requires no further cleaning, directlythrough the lint flue by-passing said cleaner, and the other throughsaid cleaner and then through the lint flue to the condenser.

A further object of the invention is to provide an [improvide] improvedcotton lint cleaner wherein the lint is spread in wide thin bats andcombed out so as to free it from foreign matter.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved cottonlint cleaner having means for spreading and straightening out the fiberson the saw cylinders, whereby the cotton is more thoroughly cleaned andforeign matter is more readily thrown out.

Another object of the invention is to provide an'improved cotton lintcleaner wherein the lint is delivered in a thin bat through drawingrolls that hold the bat firmly and feed lint to saws in a thin uniformbat at a constant rate of speed so that saws may comb the fringe of lintthus presented evenly over cleaning bars- A further object of theinvention is to provide an improved cleaner, of the character described,wherein the lint is fed to the saw teeth by means of a feeding roll anda feed bar so constructed and arranged that pressure is applied in sucha manner as to hold the lint in contact with the saw teeth, thusenabling the saw teeth to provide a combing and straightening action onthe fringes of the strands of lint ,fibers which tends to freethe'fibers from all foreign matter, such as motes, dirt and shale.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cleaner, ofthe character described, wherein the cotton is fed to and held on thesaw teeth in ,such a manner as to prevent the teeth from plucking largetufts out of the bat as well as permitting the feed to load the sawteeth in a uniform and orderly manner, thus avoiding overloading thesaws with large tufts of cotton which would be stripped off by thecleaning bars and substantially eliminating loss of lint.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved lintcleaner in which thelint is held until just before it is picked up bythe cleaning saws whereby the lint is spread more uniformly over thesaws.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafterdescribed together with other features of the invention. v

'The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference Re. 24,624 Reissued Nine; 31.,1959 to the accompanying drawings, wherein examples of the invention areshown, and wherein: Fig. l is a transverse, vertical, sectional view ofa lint cleaner constructed in accordance withthe invention,

. Fig. 2 is an end elevational view, partly in section, of

I 1 the cleaner,

and useful improvements Fig. 3 is an enlarged, horizontal,crossesectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is apartial, horizontal, cross-sectional view of the auxiliary air-supplymanifold and discharge head,- taken on the line 44 of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, perspective ing roll and feed bar mechanism,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical, sectional view of themechanism,

view of the Fig. 7 is an enlarged, detailed view of the roll adjustingmeans, and v a Fig. 8 is a partial, transverse, vertical, sectional viewtaken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7. I

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view indicating the position of the subjectlint cleaner with respect to the lint flue. in the conventional systemfor handling lint cotton.

This application is a continuation-in-part of ,my copending applicationfiled September 29, 1950, Serial No. 187,381, now abandoned.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates generally a casing or housingsupported on a horizontal, rectangu' lar frame 11 mounted on the upperends of legs or standards 12. The housing 10 is at a suflicientelevationto.

permit a lint flue 13 to besuspended thereunder above the I gin floor14. The flue 13 leads to a valve box 15 which has an upright transition16 extending from its upper and connected with the lower end of anupwardly-flaring dis tributor 17, suspended from the bottom of thehousing 10. A flat roof 18, having downwardly cur'vedends 19,

- is provided at the top of the housing. The sides of the walls of theflue boxes.

housing are enclosed by upright flue boxes 20 which extend forwardly andrearwardly of the housing ends 19. Each box 20 is quite narrow and hastransitions 21 in its top at its forward and rear ends, whichtransitions are connected to stacks 22 having'cowls 23 thereon.

Transverse, revolving screen cylinders 24, open at their ends, aremounted one in front of the other across the housing in circularopenings 25 in the inner walls of the flue boxes, [wehreby] whereby airis discharged from the Inclined, longitudinal strippers24' are disposedbetween the screen cylinders 24 to strip off cotton lint clingingtheretodueto static electricity. The screen cylinderslare fastened on shafts 26which are suitably journaled in the outer Cotton lint is delivered bythe flue 13 into the valve box 15 which has an outlet 27'connectcd witha discharge flue 28. At the intersection of the rear side of thetransition 16 and top wall 29 of the line 28, a deflecting damper 30depends-from a transverse rod 31 and has suitable operating means (notshown) whereby the damper may be swung upwardly to a horizontal positionto close off the entrance to the transition 16. When open, the damper 30has its lower end abutting a transverserod 32 at the end of the bottomwall 33 of the valve box 15. A transverse, shut-off damper 34 extendsfrom the rod 32 to the top wall 29 and has its upper edge abutting therod 31. The rod 32 is at the forward edge of an inlet opening 35 in thebottom wall 33 of the valve box and is forward of the shaft 31, wherebythe dampers, when open, are disposed at angle and shut off flow from thefiue 13 through the valve box to the discharge flue 28. The opening 35is at the upper end of a common discharge head 36.

Since the lint dolfed from \each, screen cylinder 24 is carried throughthe same instrumentalities, at the front and rear of the cleaner,duplicate numerals for like parts The rear screen cylinder 24 isrevolved in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1). A doffing roll 37,mounted transversely in the housing, has its flexible blades wiping downthe surface of the cylinder, relatively below the shaft 26 thereof. Theblades deposit the removed lint in the form of a continuous bat upon thesurface of asmooth-surfaced discharge roll 38' mounted. immediatelybelow and between theroll 37 and cylinder. fluted feed rolls39'aremounted in parallel relation below A pair of and rearwardly ofthedischarge roll 38 and a stripper roll 39' is interposed, in wipingrelation, between said discharge roll' and the innermostroll 39.Immediately under the rolls 39 and parallel thereto, a pair of pressurerolls- 40 and 41 are mounted and are of less diameter than said rolls39. The right-hand or outer roll 41 is smooth surfaced, whilethe rolls39and 40 are toothed or fluted longitudinally. downwardly between therolls 37 and 38, is successively flattened or compressed into a thinnerweb as it passes successively between the rolls 39 and then between therolls 40 and 41. Immediately below the roll 41 and extendinglongitudinally thereof is a bat end supporting bar 42 (Figs. 1, 5 and 6)which is made of steel or other suitable material and which is of majorimportance and contributes largely to the success of the machine.

The supporting. bar 42 has a flat, lower offset surface 43, inclinedslightly downwardly and outwardly in close proximity to the teeth of anunderlying saw cylinder 44 which revolves in a clockwise or outwarddirection. Immediately under and between the rolls 40 and 41 and injuxtaposition to the bar 42 is a fluted feed roll 45. The bar 42 has aninner curved face 46 conforming to thelower periphery of the feed roll45 and merging into an upright breast 47 above the center of said roll.Since the lower, inner side of the roll 41 is close to the upper edge ofthe breast 47 and roll 45, a triangular pocket 48 (Fig. 6) is formedtherebetween and the bat is fed thereinto. The feed roll 45 isadjustable toward and from the bar 42, as will be hereinafter described,and the bat, delivered to the pocket 48, is compressed into a thin batbetween saidroll and the curved face 46.

A transversely, rounded nose 49 is provided at the juncture of thecurved face and the lower surface 43 of the bar and extends between thelower, inner periphery of the roll 45 and the teeth of the saw cylinder44. This nose is quite important in properly feeding the lint to the sawteeth; The saw cylinder 44 is mounted on a shaft 50 and spaced,longitudinal cleaning bars 51 are disposed in.close proximity to itsouter peripheral portion to" doff foreign matter from the lint carriedby the saw teeth. The bars 51 form a longitudinal grill at the upper endof an upright, transverse dust leg 52 into which fine trash and dust arecast and from the lower end of which such trash and dust are removed inany suitable manner. A revolving brush 53 of the usual type is mountedat the lower, inner side of the saw cylinder to wipe the lint from itsteeth. The brush revolves in a flue head 54 from the left-hand or frontside of which a vertical discharge flue 55 depends. The lower end of theflue 55 discharges into the upper end of an inclined tubular conductor56 which extends downwardly on one side of the valve box and has itslower end connected to the discharge head 36 by an elbow 57.

It is noted that the faces 43, 46 and 47 of the supporting bar 42' aresmooth and that the nose 49 is also smooth and' rounded so as not todamage the lint as it is fed to the saws. As set forth hereinbefore, thefeed roll 45 is adjustable so as to be under tension for exerting theproper pressure on the cotton bat to feed it to the saw cylinder 44 inthe most eflicient manner. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the feed roll 45is carried by a shaft It is to be noted that the bat, carried" 58 whichis laterally adjustable in horizontal slots 59 formed inthe side walls60 of the housing. Each end of the shaft 58 is mounted in a ball bearingunit 61 carried by an upright arm 62 which is pivoted at its lower endto the outer face of the adjacent wall 60. A horizontal tension bar 63has its inner end fastened to the arm 62 above its pivot and at itsouter end is connected to the lower end of a coil spring 6.4 which ishooked at its upper end into an eye 65 on the wall 60. Since the spring64 exerts an upward pull on the bar 63, the arm is swung. to move theroll 45 toward the bar 42. A bracket 66 on the wall 60- carries a headedbolt 66 screw-threaded therethrough and bearing against the arm 61 atthe end of the bar 63. A jamb nut 68 on the bolt engages the bracket andfastens the bolt in adjusted positions. Thus, the space between the ribsof the roll 45 and the face 46, and consequently the thickness of thebat, may be minutely"contr'olled.

The rolls 37, 38, 39, 39', 40 and 41, the shaft 50, the brush 53 and theshafts 26 are suitably mounted in the end' walls 60 and may be driven inany suitable manner, as is common in this art. In the event that thelint cotton producedby" the battery of gins is sulficiently clean to bepassed direct to the conventional condenser at the end of the lint flue,the subject lint cotton cleaner is cut out from the system by swingingthe damper 30 upwardly to close off'th'e' transition 16 and the damper34 downwardly, to close the opening 35 of the header 36.

In operation, the lint cotton cleaner is connected to the lint dischargeflue from the cotton gins whereby the airborne lint is discharged intothe flue 13. It has been found that by use of this lint cleaner it ispossible to handle all of the lint from" a battery of gin stands. Thelint conducted to [the] the flue 13 is deflected by the damper 30 intothe transition 16, from which it is discharged into the bottom" of thedistributor 17 where it is spread and carriedupwardly to the tworevolving screen cylinders 24. The air is drawn through the foraminouscoverings of the cylinders and discharged from the ends of saidcylinders into theflue boxes 20 (Figs. 2 and 3) from which it escapes byway of the transitions 21 and stacks 22. i

The lint is drawn against the lower portions of the cylinders 24, thefront cylinder (left Fig. l) revolving in a clockwise direction and therear cylinder revolving in a counter-clockwise direction whereby saidlint is carried outwardly and upwardly to the rolls 37 and 38. The

rolls 37 act to strip the lint from the screen surfaces and to transferit to the rolls 38, in the form of a bat from which it is stripped olIby the wiper rolls 39'. The rolls 37 and 38 act to further bat the lintand the bats are carried down between the fluted rolls 39 whichpartially compress said bats. From the rolls 39, the bat is carried downbetween the rolls 40 and 41 and further compressed therebetween. Thebats are directed into the pockets 48 and. fed-down between the faces 46of the feed bars 42 and the feed rolls 45. It will be observed that therolls 45 revolve inwardly from the lower ends of the taces46'and'thenoses 49 and since the saw cylinder 44 revolves outwardly, thelint is drawn sharply under said noses 49 and spread or strung outwardlyon the upper portion of said saw cylinder against the smooth polishedlower surfaces 43 of the bars 42. This is an important feature, becausea long fringe of cotton is presented to the saw teeth which gives a muchbetter opportunity for combining and removing motes, trash, and otherforeign stant rate of speed; second, to open the-strands of lint;

, third, to straighten the fibers; fourth, to clean the lint;

and fifth, to carry the lint as a thin uniform sheet to the sawcylinders. Since the fringe of lint is held by the rolls 45 and thesupporting bars, it will be disentangled as the teeth pass through it.It is noted that the lower surface 43 of each supporting bar ispreferably of increased width when cleaning long staple lint.

When the lint is released from the bite" ofthe supporting bar, it istaken by the teeth of the saw cylinders and foreign matter is loosenedfrom the fibers and thrown off as it passes out from under the lowersurfaces 43 and any foreign matter left in said lint is knocked off bythe cleaning bars 51. By this arrangement, the lint is fed onto the sawcylinders in a smooth even manner and substantially no lint is thrownoff as it passes the cleaning bars. Every tooth of the cylinder saws isequally loaded which makes it possible for this cleaner to have amaximum capacity.

It is to be understood that the flue 28 leads to a suitable condenser[(not shown)], shown in Figure 9. When the damper 30 is swung up toclose off the entrance to the transition 16, and the damper 34 is swungdown to close off the inlet opening 35 of the head 36, lint is conductedstraight from the flue 13 through the valve box 15 into the flue 28. Ithas been found that additional air currents may be desirable to carrythe cotton from the head 36 when it is delivered thereto by theconductors 56. For this purpose, an air-supply flue 69 may underlie theflue l3 and has a manifold 70 communicating with the upper portion ofthe head 36 through openings 71 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4). The discharge of airinto the head is controlled by slide valves 72. As is best shown in Fig.2, an upright spreader 73 is mounted in the bottom of the head 36 andcurves upwardly to a point between the openings 71 and infront of theelbows 57, whereby the lint is deflected upwardly in said head.

It is noted that between each brush 53 and the adjacent saw cylinder 44,the flue head 54 is spaced longitudinally from the inner wall of thedust leg 52 and spaced longitudinal bars 74, which may be adjustable,are disposed. These bars permit the admittance of an updraft of air toaid the blowing of dust into the leg 52 and have the additional functionof wiping cotton back onto the saw cylinder 44. Above each brush, theflue head is open to admit air. The cotton passes between the rolls 39at a suitable rate of speed and is formed into a bat which is carrieddownward. This bat is successively reduced in thickness as it passesdown to the saw cylinder and the speed is increased so as to draw outthe bat and prevent folding or lapping thereof.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof andvarious changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in thedetails of theillustrated construction may be made, within the scope ofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the inventionlWhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A system for cleaning the aggregate lint cotton put out by a batteryof gins, said system including a battery of gins, a condenser servingsaid gins and a common lint flue for conducting the lint cottomdischarged from said gins to said condenser, means for withdrawing theaggregate cotton from said common lint flue, cleaning it and returningit to said common lint flue, said means comprising a by-pass conduithaving dirty cotton and clean cotton limbs communicating with saidcommon lint flue at points between said gins and condenser, a cleaner insaid by-pass conduit comprising, within said dirty cotton limb, meansfor drawing the aggregate cotton into said cleaner, means for separatingthe vehicle air from said cotton and means for cleaning said cotton,said clean cotton limb having a mouth open to atmosphere at a distancefrom said cotton cleaning means, means for transferring cleanedcottonwithout vehicle air from said cotton cleaning means: to the mouth orsaid clean cotton limb, means for providing a column of clean vehicleair for carrying said cleaned cotton to said condenser, at least part ofwhich columnis induced through said clean cotton limb, and valve meansfor closing the passage through said common lint flue at a point betweenthe ends of said by-pass conduit.

2. A system for cleaning the aggregate lint cotton put out by a batteryof gins, said system including a batteryof gins, a condenser servingsaid gins, and a common lint flue for conducting the lint cottondischarged from said gins to said condenser, means for withdrawing theaggregate cotton from said common lint flue, cleaning itand returning itto said common lint flue,-said means comprising a by-pass conduit havingdirty cotton and clean cotton limbs communicating with said common lintflue at points between said gins and condenser, a cleaner in saidby-pass conduit comprising, within said dirt-y cotton limb, means fordrawing the aggregate cotton and vehicle air from said common lintflueinto said dirty cotton limb, a perforate baflle across said dirtycotton limb against which the cotton impinges and forms a bat, beingseparated from the vehicle air, which passes through said bafile,cleaning'means, and means for transferring the batted cotton withoutvehicle air to said cleaning means, valve means for closing the passagethrough said common lint flue at a point betweenthe ends of said;by-pass, and means providing a column of clean vehicleair for carryingsaid cleaned cotton to said condenser.-

3. In a system for handling lint cotton, of the class wherein a batteryof gins discharges the lint cotton into a common lint flue, the lintflue delivering said cotton to a condenser from which it proceeds to apress, in such system, a lint cleaner for cleaning the common product ofsaid battery of gins, when required, prior-to its delivery to saidcondenser, said lint cleaner comprising a substantially horizontalconduit adapted to be intercalated in said lint flue between saidbattery of gins and said condenser to form a part of said lint flue,valve means across said conduit dividing it into anterior and posteriorportions, an upwardly extending duct having its lower end communicatingwith said anterior portion adjacent said valve means, rotatableforaminous condensing means overlying the upper end of said duct, thelatter being open to atmosphere through said condensing means, cottoncleaning means laterally of and outside of said duct including a sawcylinder and a series of rollers between said condensing means and sawcylinder, including a dofier for removing lint cotton from saidcondensing means in the form of a continuous bat, and rolls receivingsaid bat from said doflEer, so constructed and so driven'as to draw thebat thinner, compress it and feed it progressively to the saw cylinder,a bat end supporting bar extending longitudinally of said saw cylinderpositioned at the leading side of the line of presentation of said batto the saw cylinder, having a face thereof confronting the periphery ofsaid saw cylinder slightly spaced therefrom, for supporting the bat endwhile being combed by the saw teeth, and causing the lint to becomefastened to the saw teeth, a series of spaced cleaning bars positionedin a leading direction beyond'said bat end supporting bar, arranged inthe path of the centrifugally extended lint fibers carried by the teethof said saw cylinder, a doffer in operative proximity to the side ofsaid saw cylinder oppo site said cleaning bars, a duct surrounding saiddofier open to atmosphere adjacent said dofier and communicating withsaid posterior portion of said conduit adjacent said valve means, thelatter being alternatively operable to close said ducts and place theanterior and posterior portions of said conduit in communication,excluding said lint cleaner, or to close communication between saidanterior and posterior portions, and establish communication betweensaid ducts and said lint flue, thereby diverting the flow of cottonthrough said lint cleaner, and means for introducing a flow of airintothe said posterior portion to. entrain a flow of clean vehicle airthrough said duct, for the cleaned cotton.

4. In a system for handling lint cotton, of the class wherein a batteryof gins discharge the lint cotton into a common lint flue, the lint fluedelivering said cotton to a condenser from which it proceeds to a press,in such system, a lint cotton cleaner for cleaning the common product ofsaid battery of gins, when required, prior to its delivery to saidcondenser, said lint cleaner comprising a substantially horizontalconduit adapted to be intercalated in said lint flue between saidbattery of gins and said condenser, forming part of said lint flue,valve means across said conduit dividing it into anterior and posteriorportions, an upwardly extending inlet duct having its lower endcommunicating with said anterior portion adjacent said valve means, apair of foraminous condenser cylinders overlying the upper end of saidinlet duct having their lower halves exposed to said duct and driven torotate away from one another, said duct being open to atmosphere throughsaid condensing cylinders, a sequence of doffing and cleaninginstrumentalities individual to said cylinders, a header communicatingwith the posterior portion of said conduit adajcent said valve means,ducts for the return of cleaned lint individual to said sequences ofinstrumentalities, open to atmosphere and communicating with saidheader, said valve means being alternatively operable to cut offcommunication of said inlet duct and header with said conduit, andplacing the anterior and posterior portions thereof in communication, orto cut off communication between said anterior and posterior portionsand establish communication of said inlet duct and header with said lintflue, thereby diverting the flow of cotton through said lint cleaner,and means for introducing a. flow of air to said posterior portion toentrain a flow of clean vehicle air through said ducts for the cleanedcotton.

5. System for handling cotton as claimed in claim 4, including anadjustable atmospheric air inlet in said header.

6. System for handling cotton as claimed in claim 4, said return ductsopening into said header from opposite sides, there being independentadjustable atmospheric air inlets in said headers, .one adjacent eachreturn duct.

7. Lint cotton cleaner comprising a housing the opposite ends of whichare spaced walled chambers evacuated to atmosphere, a pair of foraminousrevolving condensing cylinders mounted across said housing on parallelaxes in a substantially horizontal plane, with their ends incommunication with said chambers through registering apertures in theinner walls thereof, said cylinders being driven in such direction thatthey rotate away from one another .in their lower arcs, a lint flueextending substantially horizontally beneath said housing at a distancetherefrom, having-valve means extending thereacross dividing said lintflueinto an anterior lint cotton receiving portion and a posteriorportion adapted to deliver the lint cottontoa condenser, a ductextending upward from .said anterior portion at a point adjacent saidvalve means, having its upper part flared and its upper mouth in closerelation to said cylinders for discharging lint cotton distributivelyagainst said cylinders in their lower arcs, similar cleaning-units foreach cylinder outside said duct, each comprising a saw cylinder at lowerlevel than the corresponding condensing cylinder, means for dofling lintfrom said condensing cylinder, forming it into a continuous thin bat andpresenting the bat substantially endwise to the upper part of said sawcylinder, the element of said cleaning unit immediately anterior to saidsaw cylinderrbeing a fluted feeding roll, a bat end supporting bararranged longitudinally of said saw cylinder and laterally of .said feedroll on that side from which the teeth of said ,saw cylinder retreat,said bar having a concave face substantially coaxial with said feed rollagainst which .said bat is supported while being fed by said feed roll,,andhaving a lower taceextending circumferentially over said sawcylinder and close thereto for a linear ex-v tent equal to the length ofseveral teeth having a rounded nose between said concave and lower faceswhereby the end of the bat is turned about said nose and combed andfringed by said saw teeth and attached thereto while pressedsupportingly by said saw teeth against said lower face, a series ofcleaning bars arranged arcuately about said saw cylinder beyond saidsupporting bar, in the direction of rotation of said saw cylinder, adoifer on the opposite side of said saw cylinder from said cleaningbars, a header communicating with the posterior portion of said lintflue at a point adjacent said valve means, and ducts for the cleanedlint in operative relation to said last named doflers opening into saidheader, said valve means being operable to control the ducts whichcommunicate with said lint flue, and the through passage between saidanterior and posterior portions of said lint flue.

8. Lint cotton cleaner as claimed in claim 7, said valve meanscomprising two flap valves, one pivoted at the top of said lint flue,controlling the adjacent upwardly extending duct, the other pivoted atthe bottom of said lint duct, controlling said headers, both lyingsubstantially parallel when closing the through passage between theanterior and posterior portions of said lint flue.

9. Lint cotton cleaner as claimed in claim 7, said supporting bars eachbeing rabbeted beyond the trailing end of said lower face providing ano-flset face against which the cotton fibers carried by said saw teethwhip under the urge 0 f centrifugal force when released from the spacebetween said lower face and the saw cylinder.

10. As a sub-combination in a cotton lint cleaner, an elongatesupporting bar having a curved lateral face and a Hat lower face with arounded nose along the intersection of said faces, a feed roll injuxtaposition to said curved face, a saw cylinder having its teethpassing in justaposition to said lower face, a swingable bracket inwhich said feed roll is journaled, a spring connected to said bracketurging said feed roll toward said curved face, and an adjustable stopfor determining the minimum spacing between said feed roll and saidcurved face.

11. A system for cleaning the aggregate lint cotton put out by a batteryof gins, said system including a battery of gins, a condenser servingsaid gins, and a common lint flue for conducting the lint cottondischarged from said gins to said condenser, means for withdrawing theaggregate cotton from said common lint flue, cleaning it and returningit to said common lint flue, said means comprising a by-pass conduithaving dirty cotton and clean cotton limbs communicating with SLZidcommon lint flue at points between said gins and condenser, a cleaner insaid bypass conduit comprising, within said dirty cotton limb, means fordrawing the aggregate cotton and vehicle air from said common lint flueinto said dirty cotton limb, a perforate baffle across said dirty cottonlimb against which the cotton impinges and forms a but, being separatedfrom the vehicle air, which passes through said bafile, cleaning meansincluding a rotary saw cylinder and a bat end supporting bar extendinglongitudinally of said saw cylinder and having a concavely curvedlateral face and a flat lower face juxtaposed to the saw cylinder and afeed roll juxtaposed to said curved face defining a bat passagethcreberween, said but and supporting bar and feed roll coacting tocompress the bat therebetween and support the but end while said but endis being combed by the saw teeth and cause the lint to become fastenedto the sow teeth, and means for transferring the batted cottonwithout'vehicle air to said cleaning means, valve mcans' for closing thepassage through said common lint flue at a point between the ends ofsaid by-pass, and means providinga column of clean vehicle air forcarrying said cleaned cotton to said condenser.

12. A system for cleaning the aggregate lint cotton put out by abatteryof gins, said system including a battery of gins, a condenser servingsaid gins, and a common lint flue for conducting the lint cottondischarged from said 9 gins to said condenser, means for withdrawingtheag gregate cotton from said common'lint flue, cleaning it and returningit to said common lint flue, said means comprising a by-pass conduithaving dirty cotton and clean cotton limbs communicating with saidcommon lint flue at points between said gins and condenser, a cleaner insaid by-pass conduit comprising, within said dirty cotton limb, meansfor drawing the aggregate cotton and vehicle air from said common lintflue into said dirty cotton limb, a perforate baffle across said dirty'cotton limb against which the cotton impinges and forms a bat, beingseparated from the vehicle air, which passes through said bafile,cleaning means including a rotary saw cylinder, a feed roll, a bat endsupporting bar arranged longitudinally of said saw cylinder having aconcave face substantially coaxial with said feed roll against whichsaid bat is supported while being fed to said feed roll and a lower faceextending circumferentially over said saw cylinder and close thereto fora lineal extent equal at least to the length of several teeth and havinga rounded nose between said concave and lower faces, and meansresiliently biasing said feed roll toward said concave face of said batend supporting bar to compress the but therebetween, said bat endsupporting bar and feed roll coacting to support the bat end while saidbat end is turned about said nose and combed and fringed by said sawteeth and cause the lint to become fastened to the saw teeth, and meansfor transferring the batted cotton without vehicle air to said cleaningmeans, valve means for closing the passage through said common lint flueat a point between the ends of said by-pass, and means providing acolumn of clean vehicle air for carrying saidcleaned cotton to saidcondenser.

13. A system for cleaning the aggregate lint cotton put out by a batteryof gins, said system including a battery of gins, a condenser servingsaid gins, and a common lint flue for conducting the lint cottondischarged from said gins to said condenser, means for withdrawing theaggregate cotton from said common lint flue, cleaning it and returningit to said common lint flue, said means comprising a by-pass conduithaving dirty cotton and clean cotton limbs communicating with saidcommon lint flue at points between said gins and condenser, a cleaner insaid by-pass conduit comprising, within said dirty cotton limb, meansfor drawing the aggregate cotton and vehicle air from said commonlintflue into said dirty cotton limb, a perforate bafile across said dirtycotton limb against which the cotton impinges and forms a bat, beingseparated from the vehicle air, which passes through said baflle,cleaning means including a rotary saw cylinder, a but end supporting barextending longitudinally of said saw cylinder and having a curvedlateral face and a flat lower face juxtaposed to the saw cylinder and afeed roll juxtaposed to said curved face in substantially concentricrelation therewith defining a bat passage therebetween, said bat endsupporting bar and feed roll coacting to compress the bat therebetweenand support the but end while said bat end is being combed by the sawteeth and cause the lint to become fastened to the saw teeth, and meansfor transferring the batted cotton without vehicle air from said baffleto said cleaning means including a dofier for removing lint cotton fromsaid baffle in the form of a continuous bat and rolls receiving said butfrom said dofier, so constructed and so driven as to draw the batthinner, compress it and feed it progressively to said bat endsupporting bar and feed roll, valve means for closing the possagethrough said common lint flue at a point between the ends of saidby-pass, and means providing a column of clean vehicle air for carryingsaid cleaned cotton to said condenser.

14." A system for cleaning the aggregate lint cotton put out by abattery of gins, said system including a battery of gins, a condenserserving said gins, and a common lint flue for conducting the lint cottondischarged from said gins to said condenser, means for withdrawing theag-,

gregate cotton non-mammalian, cleaning it and returning it to saidcommon lint'flue, said means com prising a by-pass conduit having dirtycotton and clean cotton limbs communicating with said.common lint flueat points between said gins and condenser, a cleaner in said by-passconduit comprising, within said dirty cotton limb, means for drawing theaggregate cotton and vehicle air from said common in: flue; into saiddirty cotton limb, means for separatingtheco'tton from said vehicle airincluding a rotatable horizontal foraminous condenser cylinder havingits interior open to atmosphere and the lower peripheral surface thereofexposed to the cotton in said dirty cotton limb forming a transversebaflie across the dirty cotton limb against which the cotton impingesand forms a bat, cleaning means including a rotary saw cylinder, a batend supporting bar extending longitudinally of said saw cylinder andhaving a curved lateral face and a flat lower face juxtaposed to the sawcylinder and a feed roll juxtaposed to said curved face in substantiallyconcentric relation therewith defining a bat passage therebetween, saidbat end supporting bar and feed roll coacting to compress the battherebetween and support the bat end while said but end is being combedby the saw teeth and cause the lint to become fastened to the saw teeth,and means for transferring the batted cotton without vehicle air fromsaid bafifle to said cleaning means, valve means for closing the passagethrough said common lint flue at a point between the ends of saidby-pass, and means providing a column of clean vehicle air for carryingsaid cleaned cotton to said condenser.

'15. A system for cleaning the aggregate lint cotton put out by abattery of gins, said system. including a battery of gins, a condenserserving said gins, and a common lint flue for conducting the lint cottondischarged from said gins to said condenser, means for withdrawing theaggre-' gate cotton from said common lint flue, cleaning it andreturning it to said common lint flue, said means compris-' ing aby-passconduit having dirty cotton and clean cotton limbs communicatingwith said common lint flue at points between said gins and condenser, acleaner in said by-pass conduit comprising, within said dirty cottonlimb, means for drawing the aggregate cotton and vehicle air from saidcommon lint flue into said dirty cotton limb, a perforate bafiie acrosssaid dirty cotton limb against which the cotton impinges andcforms abat, being separated from the vehicle air, which passes through saidbafile, cleaning means including a rotary saw cylinder positioned forrotation about a horizontal axis, a feed roll positioned adiacent theperiphery of the saw cylinder and journaled for rotation about ahorizontal axis, a bat end supporting bar extending longitudinally ofsaid saw cylinder and having a concave curved lateral facecon-frontinggand conforming to the'lower periphery of the feed roll overa substantial arcuate area of the latter and merging into an uprightbreast above the center of the feed roll terminating in an upperhorizontal corner at the top of the bar, and said bat end supporting barhaving a flat lower face juxtaposed to the saw cylinder and a roundednose between said concave and lower faces, said feed roll and said 'batend supporting bar defining a bat passage therebetween and coacting tocompress the bat and support the batend while the bat end is beingcombed by the saw teeth and cause the lint to become fastened to the sawteeth, and means for transferring the batted cotton without vehicle airfrom said baffle to said cleaning means including a pair of laterallyspaced, substantially horizontal transfer rolls, the adjacent peripheralsurface portions of said pair of transfer rolls defining a bat passagetherebetween offset laterally in the direction of said feed roll fromsaid breast of said but end supporting bar and the one of said transferrolls nearest said bat end supporting bar being positioned to disposeits periphery immediately adjacent said corner of said bat endsupporting bar and close to said feed roll whereby a pocket ofsubstantially triangular cross-section is formed between said breast andthe ad- 11 iaceni peripheral surface portida'ewofi said feed 'roll andsaid one of said transfer rolLsy-f valve means for, closing the passagethrough said commonlint flue at a point between the ends of saidfly-pass, and means providing a column of clean vehicle air for carryingsaid cleaned cot ton to said condenser. 1

References Cit ed ih the file-of this patent or the original patent 12Lichtenstein et a1. 11111-4;- Iune 10, Corbin Sfipt. 24, Taylor .1 Nov.23, Farrar Aug. 23, Graham 1 Oct. 14, Morgan Mar. 9, Locke July 2,Stedronsky et a1 Oct. 2, Brooks Nov. 27, Streun May 26, Day Feb. 23,

